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Where will my baby sleep?

Where will my baby sleep?

Before your baby arrives it’s time to do your ‘homework’ on safe infant sleep. You might want to consider how and where your baby will sleep before you spend all your spare money decorating and furnishing a nursery. We have gathered the information on this page to help you make informed decisions to reduce the risk of ‘sudden infant death syndrome’ (SIDS) because the sudden and unexpected death of a baby is one of the most devastating things that can happen to a family.

Please visit the following websites to find out more:

BASIS – Baby Sleep Information Source (basisonline.org.uk)

  • How do babies sleep
  • Where do babies sleep
  • Parental tiredness
  • BASIS safe sleep App

The Lullaby Trust - Safer sleep for babies, Support for families

  • Safe sleep advice
  • Co sleeping advice
  • When not to co-sleep
  • CONI (Care of next infant)

Caring for your baby at night leaflet - Baby Friendly Initiative (unicef.org.uk)

  • Feeding your baby at night
  • When babies don’t settle
  • Thinking ahead as circumstances change

To reduce the risk of SIDS:

  • Do not smoke tobacco in pregnancy
  • Do not allow smoke near your baby
  • Do not take alcohol or drugs when caring for a baby
  • Sleeping on a sofa or chair with a baby is very dangerous and should always be avoided. If parents fall asleep with their baby they are much safer in a bed than on a sofa or chair.

Always:

  • Stay close to your baby when they are asleep day / night
  • Put baby to sleep in your bedroom at night for a minimum of 6 months
  • Place your baby on their back to sleep (feet to the foot of their cot)
  • Place your baby on a firm flat surface, always buy a new cot mattress
  • Remove any pillows, toys, cot bumpers and quilts from their sleep area which may suffocate them
  • Don’t let baby get too hot
  • Follow equipment specific advice and be aware to keep baby’s airway open when they are asleep in prams/car seats/baby chairs/slings
  • Co-sleeping or bed-sharing can support breastfeeding.
  • Co-sleeping may also help on those nights when your baby won’t settle
  • Co-sleeping can be done safely if you follow the safe sleep 7

THE SAFE SLEEP SEVEN (La Leche League)

     If you are:
1.  A non-smoker
2.  Sober and unimpaired (no drugs or alcohol)
3.  A breastfeeding mother and your baby is:
4.  Healthy and full-term
5.  On his back
6.  Lightly dressed
     and you both are:
7.  On a safe surface

The Safe Sleep Seven | La Leche League International (llli.org)

Remember!

  • Co-sleeping is much more dangerous when parents smoke or have smoked during pregnancy. Smoking is the number 1 risk factor for SIDS. Please accept the support offered to stop smoking.
  • SIDS is more likely if parents co-sleep after drinking or taking drugs so you should be very careful not to fall asleep with their baby after drinking or taking drugs and plan for any such occasion
  • SIDS is more common in babies who were born low birthweight or premature; therefore parents of these babies should avoid co-sleeping especially in early infancy.